Jeff Skinner’s getting a look on the Edmonton Oilers' top line.
The 32-year-old winger skated alongside Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman during Tuesday’s morning skate at Rogers Place, put there by his head coach after his noticeable play two days before in New York City.
Bench boss Kris Knoblauch said that Skinner, while failing to score, stood out for his play with and without the puck in the Oiler' 3-1 win Sunday over the New York Rangers.
“He had a couple of scoring chances, drew two power plays,” Knoblauch told media Tuesday morning, adding he’s noticed Skinner’s tenaciousness and effort battling for the puck.
“He’s been unfortunate with his goal-scoring this year – he’s at a lower rate than what he usually is – but he’s a player. When we talk about secondary scoring and guys who can put the puck in the net, he’s a guy we expect can do that given the right opportunities.”
"When we talk about secondary scoring and guys who can put the puck in the net, he’s a guy we expect can do that given the right opportunities.”
— Kris Knoblauch on Jeff Skinner
The Oilers signed Skinner, who last scored on Feb. 23 in Washington, to a one-year, $3-million deal as an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
He has scored 368 career goals in 1,063 games, including 11 goals in 41 games for the Oilers this season mostly while on third- or fourth-line duty but recently seeing time on the second forward line alongside Leon Draisaitl.
Skinner said he expects to see plenty of open ice while patrolling McDavid’s wing Tuesday night (7 p.m.) against the visiting Utah Hockey Club.
“He creates so much space – I think he draws two and sometimes three, sometimes four guys to him, and that opens up space for his wingers,” Skinner told reporters after the skate.
“For me, it’s reading off those guys, trying to take advantage of the space they create and hopefully we can get some opportunities and try to finish them.”
Ekholm returns to lineup
A big presence will be back on the Oilers' defence Tuesday night.
Mattias Ekholm missed the last six games to injury, leaving a hole on the team’s top pairing alongside Evan Bouchard.
The shutdown defenceman who last played March 4 in a home-ice loss to the Anaheim Ducks has averaged 22:36 in ice time per game this season.
Knoblauch said the team missed Ekholm, who played for Sweden in February’s 4 Nations Face-Off, not just in his shutdown role but also on the penalty-killing unit and for his ability to play effectively with the Oilers' top-line players.
“He’s not just an off-the-glass, keep-it-safe, not-make-a-mistake kind of guy,” the coach said.
“He’s able to defend extremely well but able to get Leon and Connor the pucks on good breakout passes.”
Crude remarks
- The Oilers recalled veteran forward Derek Ryan from their farm team in Bakersfield, Calif., on Tuesday. The 38-year-old has scored three goals and five assists in 13 games with the American Hockey League’s Condors. The Oilers had waived Ryan in mid-January. He has one goal with four assists in 33 NHL games this season.
- Hyman is also returning to the lineup after missing Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury.
Projected Oilers lineup
Forward
- Jeff Skinner • Connor McDavid • Zach Hyman
- Corey Perry • Leon Draisaitl • Connor Brown
- Vasily Podkolzin • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins • Viktor Arvidsson
- Mattias Janmark • Adam Henrique • Kasperi Kapanen
Defence
- Mattias Ekholm • Evan Bouchard
- Darnell Nurse • Jake Walman
- Brett Kulak • Ty Emberson
Goal
- Calvin Pickard • Stuart Skinner
